Press Release
April 27, 2009

Black Saturday' a sneak preview of power crisis
CHIZ BLASTS DOE FOR IGNORING VISMIN

Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday lambasted the Department of Energy (DOE) for continuing to ignore the power sector in the Visayas and Mindanao region.

"The DOE has done little, if any, in addressing the power requirements in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. Everything points to a looming power crisis there," Escudero said.

A massive power outage struck the Visayas last Saturday, plunging Panay island - composed of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, and Capiz - Guimaras, Cebu, Negros island, Bohol, Siquijor, Leyte, Samar, and Biliran in darkness after a major transmission line tripped.

"We got a sneak preview of what will happen when the looming power crisis hits these regions. Businesses will suffer, investments will taper off, and jobs will be lost. These will be the effects of the government's continued neglect of the Visayas and Mindanao," Escudero said.

Tourism and business outsourcing, two of the booming sectors in the Visayas and Mindanao, are heavily dependent on power. A power shortage could cripple these two sectors and drastically cut employment, the senator said.

The 2009 forecast for Mindanao has been described as critical as the difference between supply and demand becomes more evident, the senator said.

The forecast for the Visayas is likewise grave as the projected power requirement is way below the supply capacity in the region.

Escudero said the economic slowdown feared as a result of the global economic crunch may not be as bad as originally thought, based on projections by investment analysts.

"But because of the DOE's ineptitude and the government's continued indifference to the Visayas and Mindanao, we could have the shameful distinction of reversing this positive trend because of the looming power shortage in the Visayas and Mindanao," the senator lamented.

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